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Shadow cannot believe it’s pitch-black outside at 4:00 PM.
Back in the day, he would have relished this seasonal change, as he had only been able to go outside comfortably in the dark. But now, half a year after returning from the void, he is completely human—and really, really annoyed.
“I’m home,” he calls into the cottage, thankful to feel the fireplace’s warmth. He strips off Vio’s peacoat, kicks off his own heavy boots, and pads his way into the heart of their home.
Vio sits in the den reading a book as usual, glancing up at Shadow with a knowing smile. Their cat Pinecone, a tripod tortie who they rescued about a month ago, wakes from her deep slumber on Vio’s chest. She hops down to greet Shadow, rubbing against his legs and accepting his pets. She sits on the floor beside him, waiting loyally for his next move.
“Did you wear my coat to the market?” Vio teases Shadow from the couch.
“Sounds like you already know the answer to that question.”
“Yeah, but I thought you’d deny it.” Vio places his book aside and shifts his body to make room. “Get over here.”
Shadow plops down beside him and crosses his arms over his chest. He hates when he gets like this, stupidly annoyed for a reason he can’t even name. He’s not even genuinely upset—it’s a toothless and aimless sort of displeasure.
Vio releases a small laugh beside him. “What?” Shadow asks sharply, meeting his deep purple eyes.
“You’re just… pouting,” Vio says, motioning to Shadow’s entire posture. Shadow uncrosses his arms. “No, it’s cute, don’t—”
“Why is it dark right now?” Shadow asks abruptly, glancing at Vio’s book. “That must be something you know.”
Vio considers the question, opening his arms for Shadow in the meantime. Shadow allows himself to be embraced with an unnecessarily dramatic sigh. Pinecone hops up and tucks herself in Shadow’s lap, completing their Matroyoshka of domestic bliss.
“So we’re on a planet right now,” Vio begins, and Shadow can already feel his frustration melting away. It’s hard for him to be truly annoyed when he’s laying in his partner’s arms. “The planet orbits around a sun, you know, in space. That’s what makes it daytime. Following me?”
It could all be a fairy tale, a conspiracy created by the historians of Hyrule past, but Shadow nods anyway. It’s just as reasonable as anything he’d guess—and besides, Vio usually knows what he’s talking about with this kind of stuff.
“So we’re in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, which tilts towards the sun in the summer months—that is, the majority of the time we’ve spent here together. But in the winter months, which we’re just entering now, the Northern Hemisphere faces away from the sun. This results in fewer hours of sunshine and shorter days.”
“It happened so fast, though,” Shadow says, covering up a huge yawn. “I feel like yesterday the sun was setting at 5:00, or even later.”
Something occurs to Vio. “Oh!” he exclaims, “of course!”
“What is it, genius?”
“There’s this thing called daylight savings, where everyone turns back their clocks an hour when the seasons start to turn. It must have just happened. I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”
“Why would anyone want to do that?” Shadow asks, about to get pouty again but not wanting to give Vio the satisfaction.
“I think it was originally meant to give farmers more early-morning light,” Vio says, “but at this point, it’s just something people do. You should ask Zelda next time we see her.”
“This is her decree?”
“I guess, or at least she upholds it. I must say, I’m a little worried that it’s bothering you so much. It’s only an hour.”
Shadow blows his bangs out of his face. “I’m fiiiiiine,” he groans, “it’s just annoying. And stupid. And it makes me feel really tired, like I need an hour-long nap just to get on with the rest of my evening.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with naps.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t need them before.”
“Part of the Hylian condition is change,” Vio says, tenderly tucking hair behind Shadow’s ear. “There are good parts about the winter months, I promise you.”
“Like what?”
“Well I happen to find it very cozy, bundling up when it’s cold outside. Reading, especially with a cat on my chest or you in my arms.”
It gives Shadow chills, to hear Vio say it so plainly. He loves Shadow, and Shadow loves him. He looks at Vio’s face and sees uncertainty—he must have surprised himself with the admission. As long as Shadow lives, he is determined to show Vio how much he is loved. He leans up for a kiss on the lips and it’s obviously the right choice. Vio pulls him in closer by the hair—gently, of course—and it’s like they’re the only ones in the universe when they’re together like this.
Pinecone jumps off Shadow’s lap and they both begin to laugh. Shadow and Vio are at it again with the forehead bonk, nuzzling against each other as they watch Pinecone curl up by the fire.
Vio reaches for the blanket Red had knitted them a few weeks back and drapes it over them both, further demonstrating the benefits of a chilly winter night. And Shadow has to admit… it’s not a bad feeling at all.
“Did you find the tea you wanted at the market?” Vio asks, idly playing with Shadow’s hands.
Shadow snorts. “Yeah, but I left it in your jacket pocket.”
“That’s always nice in the cold too. A warm beverage, especially one made by an expert such as yourself…”
“Sure,” Shadow says, stiffening slightly, “but the cold’s not really the problem.”
“It isn’t?”
“It’s… the darkness.”
And as soon as the words leave Shadow’s mouth, he knows the real reason this whole daylight savings situation bothers him. “Look at me,” he says, “used to be scared of the light, and now I’m scared of the dark.”
Vio cocks his head. “Can you elaborate? I mean, I can guess what you mean, but I want to really understand it.”
Fuck, Shadow loves him so much.
“I don’t do well with reminders of the Dark World,” Shadow says slowly, as though confirming the truth of each word as it leaves his lips. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that.”
Vio nods.
“When I broke the mirror I ended up there again, but it was… different. I’ve always described it as a void. In the Dark World, there’s tangible darkness in the absence of light—nature, people, sounds, smells, you get it. But in the void, where I ended up, there’s just… nothing at all. No darkness, no light, just me. I would have been stuck there forever if you hadn’t pulled me out.”
“But you’ve enjoyed the nighttime since coming back,” Vio counters, analytical rather than argumentative. “What’s the difference now?”
“There’s something about these early sunsets, and the cold combined with the darkness, that just reminds me of the void. Nighttime in summer is still warm, and loud with animals, but the woods during my walk home were nearly silent. I’m not used to them being like that.”
“That makes a lot of sense, and I can see how it’s jarring.”
“I’m fine,” Shadow half-heartedly insists, “but… yeah. I guess the idea of staring down the next six months dealing with this whole winter situation isn’t the most appealing to me.”
“I know how much you love nature,” Vio says, “how much you’ve come to appreciate it. It must be hard seeing all the plants die, and the animals going into hibernation. Of course you know they’ll come back, you’re not stupid, but… I can see how it’s upsetting.”
Shadow rolls his eyes. “Now you’re just making me sound sentimental.”
“Am I wrong?”
“No, but I still have some pride to maintain.”
“You should be proud,” Vio says, disentangling his hands so he can cup Shadow’s face. As always Shadow melts, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch. “You’ve had a busy six months.”
And that much is true—since his resurrection, Shadow has worked tirelessly to learn about the world, his friends, and even himself. He’s done so much to make amends for his various crimes against Hyrule and its people. He’s fallen in love with nature, and cooking, and his little life with Vio and Pinecone in their cottage full of stolen furniture and evil root beer.
What if, one day, it all disappeared? And nothing took its place?
“Thank you,” Shadow says, kissing the side of Vio’s hand.
“For what?”
“All of it.”
Smoke billows from the chimney of their cottage, mixing with a cold breeze passing through the woods. The sky is overcast and darker than seems possible for this world of light. Crows call out as they pass overhead, foxes burrow in their dens, and the fuzzy creatures of the forest evaluate their hoards of nuts and berries.
There’s a window in the den of their cottage, with a chair specifically for Pinecone placed beneath it. Like Shadow, she will be disappointed by the disappearance of most birds for the next several months. Unlike Shadow, she is unburdened by the knowledge of space and time. Nature’s many surprises are innate to her.
There are some upsides, though, to surprises.
“Holy shit, Vio,” Shadow says, eyes locked on the window. “Something’s happening out there.”
Vio looks over his shoulder and smiles. “Yeah, Shadow, it’s snow.”
“Snow?’ Shadow asks, tossing off the blanket and leaving Vio’s lap.
“Hey, wait—”
Shadow runs to the front door, not even bothering to grab a jacket, and steps out into the woods. Something is falling from the sky—kind of like rain, but pure white and almost flaky, reminding him of ash in the volcano’s air. He reaches out and a piece of it lands on his hand. On closer inspection, Shadow is shocked by its beautiful intricacy, and then just like that it’s gone, melted by the warmth of his skin.
“You’ve never seen snow?” Vio asks, all bundled up in his peacoat. He offers Shadow his own jacket, which Shadow sheepishly accepts and shrugs on.
“Never,” Shadow says, watching his own breath leave his mouth. It’s like magic. He exhales to see it again, and Vio chuckles.
“When the air temperature gets below freezing, precipitation freezes too,” Vio tells Shadow. “That’s how we get snow, or hail, or slush.”
“This is snow, right?” Shadow asks, eyes large. “I love it.”
“It is. It’s perfect, too. Great texture, really lucky for the first snowfall of the season.”
Vio motions to the sheer white blanket forming on the path to their front door. It looks like powdered sugar, and Shadow wants to lick it very badly, but he suspects that would be a painful mistake. “By tomorrow there could be inches of it,” Vio continues. “We can have snowball fights, make sculptures, combine it with maple syrup to make candy…”
Shadow looks at Vio, watches the impossibly delicate crystals adorning his eyelashes, redness spreading on his nose and cheeks, his warm breath materializing in the freezing air… and despite the temperature, his heart melts.
“I love it,” Shadow says, “the snow, the winter, you. I would have never imagined I could feel this way, especially back when I…”
Vio takes his hand and squeezes it. “You’re here now.”
Shadow can’t put into words the intensity of his feelings, brought about by this truly mundane act of nature. Maybe he doesn’t have to. Maybe the simple sight of snow in the winter sky, like flecks of light in an endless black void, says enough.
Vio places something in Shadow’s hand—the bag of tea leaves from the market. It’s an unspoken request that he is more than happy to fulfill.
But first…
“You should go back inside,” Shadow tells Vio. “Warm up the kettle, if it’s not too much trouble. I’m just going to… watch, for a minute.”
“Take all the time you need,” Vio says, planting a quick kiss on Shadow’s equally red nose. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Eyes locked on the sky, Shadow hears Vio’s footsteps fade and the door close behind him. Left alone in the winter night, he relishes the absence of noise. The snow seems to act as a heavy blanket, silencing the world’s everlasting cacophony.
Shadow has felt wonder in every season he’s experienced so far, relishing the fresh green of springtime, deep aqua of ocean waves, and bright red fall foliage. But winter, he knows now, is his favorite of them all.
Most superficial observers would say the winter sky is black and the snow is white, that the season is colorless and empty like the void. But if Shadow looks, really looks, imagines the palette of a painter hoping to capture the beauty of this moment, he begins to see it all: the varying tones of the cloudy sky, crystalline snowflakes refracting microscopic hues, tiny flowers peeking out from the forest brush…
Winter is a color he’d know anywhere. It is vibrant in its silence, and to Shadow it feels just like home. It’s a painter’s palette, covered with lilac and lavender and indigo and, yes, violet. It promises peace, and wonder, and rebirth on the horizon. Shadow wants to experience it all, every single thing Vio praised about the season, over and over again.
And it’s only 4:30 PM.